Tasting Room - Pairings

Red Wine & Fish, or Why I Love Science!

Ray Isle — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:00:00 -0500

So it seems that researchers in Japan have determined the cause of that horrible metallic super-fishy taste that occurs when some red wines are paired with fish. It's iron. Specifically, the amount of ferrous ion present in the wine. You can read...

Balvenies New Limited-Edition Whiskey

Jen Murphy — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:41:00 -0500

When a friend invited me to a five-course, whiskey-paired dinner at Eleven Madison Park last Wednesday, I hesitated before accepting. I’ve been to plenty of wine- and beer-paired dinners, but sipping whiskey through a meal sounded a little inte...

Ommegang's Brew News

Jen Murphy — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:50:00 -0500

Last night, supertalented chef Bobby Hellen of NYC's Resto teamed up with Phil Leinhart, the brewmaster at Cooperstown, New York’s Ommegang brewery, for a gluttonous, nose-to-tail feast. It was the first of a series of Zagat-sponsored, craf...

Cocktail vs. Wine Pairing Smackdown!

Ray Isle — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 11:09:05 -0500

Because I'd been away for a while, spending a placid few days kayaking on the waters of Maine's Somes Sound, it seemed to me (for some lunatic reason) like the proper way to effect a New York re-entry would be by attending a cocktail vs. wine...

Dungenesss Perfect Match

Kelly Snowden — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:33:28 -0500

There’s a reason I only visit Seattle in August—Dungeness crab season. (OK, sunny days don’t hurt, either.) My family sets its traps with crab catnip (a.k.a., turkey legs) and is usually rewarded with enough large males to boil up a...

Spinach Pie & Sparkling Rosé

Megan Krigbaum — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 10:51:00 -0500

I am a spinach-pie fanatic. Doesn't matter if it's the Greek phyllo variety or the folded-dough Middle Eastern sort; there is no food more perfect in my mind. And just recently, I had a spinach-pie-and-wine pairing epiphany that makes the ult...

Fonda del Sol: Smart Pairings, Terrific Food

Ray Isle — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 18:21:50 -0500

I've been to Fonda del Sol a few times now—it's just down the street from our office, conveniently—and it seems to be on an ever-inclining curve towards extreme tastiness. That's not a surprise to me. When I first met the rest...

Tequila & Ice Cream

Ray Isle — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:47:00 -0500

I stopped by NYC's Hill Country Barbecue & Market last night for a semi-impromptu blind tasting of tequilas (no rest for the weary, indeed). The general gist of the thing, concocted by Hill Country bar director extraordinaire Jessica Stone an...

Best Wines for Burning Beast

Kristin Donnelly — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:45:00 -0500

This weekend, Seattle chefs—including F&W Best New Chefs, like Tilth’s Maria Hines, Lark’s Jon Sundstrom and Sitka and Spruce’s Matt Dillon—will head to Smoke Farm for the second annual Burning Beast. Founded by chef...

Aspen Recap 2: Burger Bonanza Wines

Ray Isle — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:25:00 -0500

The 2009 Food & Wine Classic in Aspen wrapped up this past Sunday, but I figured I'd blog about one or two highlights from it anyway. One of them, not to blow my own horn, was the slightly crazy blind-burger-pairing-old-world-vs.-new-world-wi... [More]

Nantucket Wine & Fashion

Jen Murphy — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:49:00 -0500

It takes talent to match just the right wine with a dish. Some would also argue that it takes talent to match the perfect handbag or heels with a dress. That makes Elisabeth English, the owner of Nantucket's Current Vintage, super-talented. After...

Taste Washington Report

Ray Isle — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:22:27 -0500

This past weekend I had the good fortune to attend Taste Washington, an extravaganza of Washington State wines put on in a few places around the country every year. I was at the mothership incarnation of the thing, in Seattle, a mighty cool town (lik...

The Best Breakfast Ever

Ray Isle — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 13:30:00 -0500

There are breakfasts, and then there are breakfasts.

One Darn Good Pinot Noir

Ray Isle — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:37:00 -0500

The other night for dinner I opened up a bottle of the 2004 Scherrer Winery Russian River Pinot Noir ($36, click here to find it) and was struck all over again by what a terrific winemaker Fred Scherrer is. I have no idea why his wines continue to fl...

A Mighty Good Rosé: 2007 Domaine Tempier

Ray Isle — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:04:00 -0500

Since I'm in the Bay Area for our annual American Wine Awards event, I took the opportunity to head over to the East Bay and grab lunch at the Chez Panisse's Café. Seemed like a good idea, since I haven't been there in thirteen years...